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150 years of immigration in Canada
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Canada has long been, and continues to be, a land of immigration. Since Confederation in 1867,
more than 17 million immigrants have come to Canada.
Population fluctuations
The annual number of landed immigrants in Canada has fluctuated considerably over the last
150 years. Some of these fluctuations can be linked to immigration policy changes, others to
Canada's economic situation or world events connected with the movement of migrants and
refugees.
For example, in the late 1800s, the number of immigrants admitted annually to Canada varied
between 6,300 and 133,000. Record numbers of immigrants were admitted in the early 1900s when
Canada was promoting the settlement of Western Canada. The highest number ever recorded was in
1913, when more than 400,000 immigrants arrived in the country.
However, the number of people entering the country dropped dramatically during World War I, to
fewer than 34,000 landed immigrants in 1915. The lowest numbers of landed immigrants were
recorded during the Great Depression in the 1930s and during World War II. The return of peace
fostered economic recovery and an immigration boom in Canada.
Other record levels of immigration have been registered during political and humanitarian crises,
including in 1956 and 1957, when 37,500 Hungarian refugees arrived in the country, and in the 1970s
and 1980s, when a large number of Ugandan, Chilean, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian
refugees came to Canada.
Since the early 1990s, the number of landed immigrants has remained relatively high, with an
average of approximately 235,000 new immigrants per year.
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This influx of foreign-born people was followed by a significant drop to approximately 2 million in
1941, as a result of the Great Depression and World War II, but also due to high emigration levels. By
contrast, since the 1950s, the foreign-born population has been steadily increasing.
For example, by 2011, the National Household Survey estimated the foreign-born population at
6,775,700, representing 20.6% of the total population. This was the largest proportion since the
1931 Census.
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During the first few censuses after Confederation, the British Isles were the main source of
immigration, accounting for 83.6% of the foreign-born population in the 1871 Census, or close to half
a million people. Immigrants from the United States (10.9%), Germany (4.1%) and France (0.5%)
were far behind.
The population of immigrants born in European countries other than those of the British Isles started
to increase in the late 1800s, slowly at first and then more rapidly, peaking in the 1970s. This
transformation consisted of three major waves.
The first wave began in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with the arrival of new groups of immigrants
from Eastern Europe (Russians, Polish and Ukrainians), Western Europe and Scandinavia.
A second immigration boom following World War II continued to favour immigration from the British
Isles, but a significant number of immigrants also arrived from Western Europe (Germany and the
Netherlands) and Southern Europe (Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia and Portugal) from the 1950s to the
1970s. At the time of the 1971 Census, 28.3% of immigrants were born in the United Kingdom and
51.4% were born in another European country.
Lastly, Canada admitted immigrants from Eastern Europe (including the Russian Federation and
former Soviet republics, Poland and Romania) in the 1980s and 1990s, following political changes in
Communist bloc countries, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union.
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In summary, immigration has changed a great deal since Confederation, becoming the main driver of
population growth (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-630-x/11-630-x2014001-eng.htm) in Canada.
Each wave of immigrants has contributed, and continues to contribute, to the ethnic, linguistic and
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Definitions
Landed immigrant (or permanent resident): A person who has been granted the right to live
permanently in Canada by immigration authorities, but who has not yet become a Canadian citizen
through naturalization.
Foreign-born population (also referred to as immigrant population): In censuses, persons who
are or have been landed immigrants or permanent residents in Canada. The foreign-born population
includes Canadian citizens through naturalization; however, it does not include non-permanent
residents or Canadian citizens by birth who were born abroad.
Non-permanent resident: A person in Canada who has a work or study permit, or who is a refugee
claimant.
Emigrant: A Canadian citizen or immigrant who has left Canada to settle permanently in another
country.
Place of birth: The name of the geographic location in which a person was born. The geographic
location is specified according to the geographic boundaries current at the time of data collection, not
the geographic boundaries at the time of birth.
References
Boyd, M. and M. Vickers. 2000. 100 years of immigration in Canada (http://www.statcan.gc.ca
/pub/11-008-x/2000002/article/5164-eng.pdf?contentType=application%2Epdf), Canadian Social
Trends. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 11-008.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. 2015. Canada: A History of Refuge
(http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/timeline.asp). Website consulted on April 28, 2016.
Kelley, N. and M. Trebilcock. 1998. The Making of the Mosaic: A History of Canadian Immigration
Policy, Toronto, Buffalo and New York, University of Toronto Press.
Statistics Canada. 2013. 2011 National Household Survey: Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity in
Canada (http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/olc-cel/olc.action?ObjId=99-010-X&ObjType=2&lang=en&limit=0).
Catalogue no. 99-010-X.
Contact information
To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Hlne Maheux
(Hlne.Maheux@canada.ca (mailto:Hlne.Maheux@canada.ca), 613-854-8379) or Ren Houle
(Ren.Houle@canada.ca (mailto:Ren.Houle@canada.ca), 613-854-8473), Social and Aboriginal
Statistics Division
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Date modified:
2016-07-14
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